Your skiing holiday can be just as fun when you take the skis off at the end of the day! In Verbier, après-ski is generally synonymous with savouring a beer at the Mont-Fort Pub or the Fer à Cheval, but it can also mean shopping for some top-quality ingredients and concocting some delicious, traditional mountain dishes. It’s also the perfect opportunity to host a special fondue evening with your family: warming hearts and soothing aching limbs with the delicious cheese of the Bagnes Valley. And all of this can be enjoyed in front of a cosy fire at your beautiful mountain chalet.

Going on a skiing holiday and not indulging in fondue is like going to the seaside and not going for a swim. The ever-tantalising Fondue can make any meal a truly convivial event. Can there be any greater moment of harmony in the world than when that piece of bread becomes enveloped with the glorious and familiar hulk of cheese?

Fondue comes in a variety of forms. It can be seasoned with ceps or morel mushrooms, pepper, mustard or tomato… Each family has its own take or particular interpretation on fondue, with each region its own speciality.

Fondue is eaten by using a long fork to dip a small piece of white bread into the fondue pot, or caquelon, and turning it to form a satisfying figure of eight. Four or more people generally share the fondue pot and eat from the same plate, a practise that might be a little off-putting for the uninitiated. Tradition dictates that if one of the diners drops their bread into the caquelon, they must relinquish their turn.

In Verbier and Valais, fondue is generally accompanied by hot tea or a dry white whine such as Fendant Valaisan. For many years, there have been numerous different ways of melting the cheese. Here you will find our recipe – a recipe to warm the hearts of your guests.

Ingredients (serves 4 people)

• 600g of AOC Valais Raclette (AOC is a protected designation of origin)
• 3dl of Valais-brand Fendant
• 1 clove of garlic (as per your tastes)
• 1 teaspoon of cornstarch
• 1 pinch of baking soda (to make the fondue more digestible)
• 1 small glass of AOC Valais eau de vie such as Kirsch or Williamine
• White bread
• Pepper

Instructions

1. Finely chop the garlic and simmer lightly in the caquelon with the Fendant.
2. Meanwhile, cut the cheese into thin strips and add to the pot with the cornstarch.
3. Stir over a medium heat into the form of a figure of eight with a wooden spoon
4. Dissolve the baking soda in the eau de vie
5. When the wine and cheese start to become an even mass, add the above mixture.
6. Let the pot simmer over the heat for a short while before bringing to the table.
7. Prepare the stove for the alcohol and serve the fondue with large chunks of bread.
8. Season with pepper to taste.

The fondue should be even in consistency throughout with a semi-liquid appearance, and not form clumps when dipping in the bread. Make sure to cook the fondue over a medium heat.

Bon Appétit !